A “powerful” political cabal simply identified as “government house” under the successive administrations of former governors of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki and AbdulFatah Ahmed crumbled and grounded the operations of state-owned transport company, Kwara Express (presently Harmony Transport Services Limited), according to a report by the Business Review and Investigation Committee (BRIC).
BRIC was inaugurated on Friday, September 11, 2020 by the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Harmony Holdings Limited, Mallam Abdullahi Abdulmajed as part of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led administration’s effort to reposition and revamp all state-owned business entities left to rot by the previous administration.
This political bloc, The Ravens NG gathered, interfered unduly and seamlessly in the day-to-day running of Kwara Express, thereby making it difficult for the management and owner of the transport company to make decisions and take full control.
According to the report, “However, since 2015 when Kwara Express transitioned to Harmony Transport Services Limited, the company has not been running as a full fledge business of its own. There has been too much undue interference in the company’s business by both the holding company and other political interest, which was described as ‘government house’.
“Our investigation showed that, the company is being managed by three layers of management, which include HTSL official management, the holding company (HHL) and unknown political managers from government house, a development that has made it impossible for the company to function properly, execute its plans successfully or run the business profitably.”
The committee had Comrade AbdulRazaq Hamzat as its chairman, Mrs Olaide Adebanjo Adejobi as secretary alongside 12 other eminently qualified professionals who are top players in both private and public sectors drawn from various local government areas of the state, a statement from the Corporate Affairs Unit of the Harmony Holdings Limited noted.
It added: “Some of the committee members are Kwarans playing prominent roles in the management of successful private sector model run transport companies owned partly or fully by the state government such as the Bus Rapid Transport of Lagos State.”
The investigation committee also found out mind-boggling cases of infractions and massive fraud against the previous leadership of the Harmony Holdings and Kwara Express who served under the previous government.
The present HHL GMD, who formally received the 91-page BRIC report, thanked members of the committee for their time and courage to take up the daunting challenge, assuring them of implementing the recommendations.
Abdulmajeed also stressed: “the Kwara State government under His Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq possesses the required expertise and single-minded commitment to forthrightly turn around all state-owned enterprises to serve Kwarans better while establishing many other viable ones to stimulate the economy. He promised that Kwara Express will not be an exception.”
